Abstract

Purpose

Adult medulloblastoma is a rare disease treated according to the current pediatric treatment guidelines. This retrospective analysis investigated the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of adult medulloblastoma patients, who received multimodal therapy at our institution.

Methods

Treatment charts of all patients over the age of 15 years of age with de novo medulloblastoma, who had been treated at our institution between 2001 and 2014, were retrospectively analyzed. Patients’ demographic parameters, initial symptoms, treatment modalities, toxicities, and survival outcomes were investigated.

Results

In all, 21 patients with a median age of 30.2 years were identified. The most frequent histologies were desmoplastic and classic, and the most common molecular subtype was sonic hedgehog (SHH). After tumor resection, all patients received craniospinal irradiation (median dose 35.2 Gy) and a boost to the posterior fossa (median dose 19.8 Gy). Simultaneous chemotherapy with vincristine was given to 20 patients and sequential chemotherapy to 15 patients. The most common side effects were hematological toxicities. Median overall survival (OS) has not been reached after a median follow-up of 92 months. Estimated 5‑ and 10-year OS was 89 and 80%, respectively. Estimated 5‑ and 10-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 89 and 81%, respectively. In univariate analysis, a shorter interval between tumor resection and end of irradiation was significantly associated with improved OS and PFS, anaplastic histology with worse OS and PFS.

Conclusions

The combined modality treatment showed a good outcome in adults with medulloblastoma. Treatment time was revealed to be prognostic and should be kept as short as possible.

Notes

Compliance with ethical guidelines

Conflict of interest

Ethical standards

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This retrospective analysis of anonymized patient data was approved by the institutional ethics board (LMU Munich).